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, tuvieren erlesene rarnwr rai-inn sonnen, or sWIssvALE, rENNsYLvAiTiA,Assieno'n To wnsriivencusnntnc- TRAND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, ACORPORATIO1\T OF PENNSYLVANIA.

STARTING-ELECTRDE' renin/iron Vniinc'rnie DEVICES.

ofA Swissvale, in the county of Alleghenyand State. of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and usefullinproveme'nt in Starting-Electrodesfor-Vapor Electric Devices, of which the following isa specification.

4 in the casing of a.y vapor electric device and l' Myl 'nventionrelates to vaporeleetric de` '..vices and particularly to startingelectrodes .for such devices, and ithas for one of itsl objectsptoprovide improved means whereby v a'l starting electrode may be securelysealed may be readily operated from the exterior of the device.

further object `of my inventionjis toV provide improved and highlyefficient bearparts contained within the casing of a vaporvelectric,device.

Theiiature of my invention may be best understood by reference to theaccompanying Ydrawings in 'which- I Figure 1 is a general' view,partially in elevation and partially in verticalsection, of

my improved starting electrode. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional viewshowing certain of the operating parts of my device vin greater detailthan in Fig. 1andvl4`ig. 3 isa plan View of the partsjshown in Fig. 2. l`Referring now to Fig. 1 of th/e drawing,

a"portion of a mercury vapor rectifier is shown having a cover 1provided with an aperture and with a cylindrical sleeve2 pro- `ieetingupwardly'therefrom. The sleeve 2 is provided with an internal bevelededge 3 near its-union with the cover to constitute 'a' seat for acorrespondingly shaped .shoulder upon an insulating bushing 4 whichextends through the aperture into' the casing and which is held looselyin the sleeve 2, being maintained in a substantially central positiontherein by. pads or bosses` 5. rlhe bushing 4 is also provided with aninwardly beveled internal seat` 6 to coperate with la similarly. shapedexternal rshoulder on `a metallictubular member 7 which isinclosedSpecification of Letters Patent. Appncatipn med January eo, i914.seri'ai Nq. 815,354.

v y l portion'thereof; a washer ings for the frictionallyengagingoperated` 2O Patented ring. 8, 191@ within the bushing and extendsbeyond .itA .u into the casing.

member 7 is likewise provided with an in- The interior of the tubularwardly inclined beveledl surface uponI which 4a correspondingly shapedenlargement 80na rod 9 is adapted to bear. observed that vthree pairsclined surfaces lit will thus be of inwardly inare provided, the purposeof which is to provide intimate Contact between' the sleeve, thebushing,the tubular member and the rod, thus eii'ectually sealing the' aperturein the cover.

l providemeans forforcing the described parts into intimate contact withone another,

such means comprising a bushing 1'0 which T tween which andan exteriorlythreaded nut or .bushing 15 are clamped an asbestos washer 16 and asteel washer 17. rlhe nut or bushing 15 is screwed into the sleeve 2 toclamp the washers 16 and 17 and 12 and 13 between thea'djacent,`suifaces and the cooperating inclined surfaces inengagement.'

The rod 9 is provided with a second enlargement 18V above theenlargement S and is resiliently forced downward by a spring 19surrounds a reduced portion 11, of the tubuwhich bears against theenlargement 1S and.,

which is compressed by an exteriorly threaded nut 20 which 'is screwedinto the upper portion of the tubular member 7.

' The outer end of the rod 9 is provided with a knob 21 or othersuitable turning means. v

It will be observed that spaces are provided between the sleeve, thebushing, the tubular member and the rod to be either partly or whollyfilled with mercury, which may be conveniently introduced throughapertures 2Q and 23 and which insures pei'- fectly gas-tight sealsbetween the parts.

provide openings also in the tubular inemp ber 7 through which themercury may reach the space between the rod 9 and the interior of thetubular member 7.

A collar 24: is ixed to the end ofthe tubular member 7 which extendsinto the casing and ,to this collar is pivoted a lever 25 y which isconnected by a. link 2G to a vertically reciprocable rod 2T having, atits lower end, an electrode 28 which may be ofgraphite or other suitable material. The rod 27 is supported in a vertical position bybushings 29 and 29a that are held in a bi'acket 30 mounted on a support3l and' is provided of carbon.

with, a rod 27 andthe electrode 2S in their lowest position, in whichposition the end of the electrode is immersed in the mercury pool" 33whichforms the cathode of the rectifier.

The rod 9 carries, at its lower end, a cam 34 which is. adaptedtocooperate with a roller 35 on the lever 25.

It will be readily understood that, when the parts are in the positions'shown in- `Fig. l, with the lever 25 in the position indicated .by fulllines, aslight turn of the' .knob 21v ina counter-clockwise directionwill cause the cam 3ft to release the lever 25, thus allowing theelectrode 28 to descend into the Amercury pool, and that a further turn'of the knob 21 in the same direction will cause the cam 34 to `aise thelever 25, and consequently the electrode 2S, thus drawingl an arcbetween this electrode andthe mercury pool.

A n important feature of my invention resides in the bearings which Ihave provided for the lever 25 and the link 26. I have discovered thatfrictional bearing surfaces of inetalare notsuitable for use in a highvacuum for the reason that vaporizable lubricants cannot be used, andalso for the reason that `the small amount of gas oc- 'cluded in themetal is drawn to the surface of the metal by the vacuum. The transmis-,sioiiof the gaseous particles from within the body of the metal causesthe surface of the metal to become rougheiied, and, therefore, whenmetal partsr are in close fricf tional Contact, the roughening of thesurface Ido not wish to berestricted to the use of carbon bearings,since any non-metallic antifriction vmaterial which. is not affected injuriously by mercury is suitable for my purpose. Furthermore, I do notwish to be restricted to the exact structural details which weight 32which tends to hold the' I have shown and described, since it is obviousthat many changesmay be made therein without departing from the spiritofmy invention.

I claim as my invention: l 1. A vapor electric device comprising acasing, a vaporizable electrodecontained therein, astarting'electrodeand an operating' means therefor having a carbonbearing.

2. A vapor electric device comprising a casing, a. vaporizable electrodeand astarting electrode contained therein, and means for operating thestarting electrode comprising a cam-actuated lever provided with ananti-friction bearing. y

3. A vapor electric device' comprising a casing, a' bushing extendinginto thecasing, a tubular member seated in the bushing and' extendingthrough the same'into the casing, a rotatable rod seated in andextending 4through the tubular member, an electrode' within the casing,and means actuated by rotation of the saidrod to raise and lower' theelectrode. 4. A vapor electric device comprising a casing, a vaporizableelectrode and a starting electrode Vcontained therein and means sealedin and extending through the casing y for actuating the startingelectrode, said actuating meanscomprising a lever havinga carbon bearingand means controlled from the exterior of the casing for operating thelever.

5. A vapor electric devicecomprising a casing, a starting electrode,means extending through the casing for operating thestarting electrodeand means for sealing the operating means in the casing, said sealingmeans comprising a bushing of insulating material having` external andinternal seats coope ating respectively withsimilar seats on. the casingand on a tubular member inclosed within the bushing, a rod within thetubular member having an enlarged portion coperating with an internalseat on the tubular membeig and means for forcing'the several coperatingparts into gas-tight engagement. 6. A vapor electric device comprising aing thro-ugh the casing for operating the starting electrode, and meansfor sealing the operating means within the casing, said means comprisinga bushing of insulatingA material having external and internal in`-wardly tapered seats cooperating respectively with siinilar seats onthe casing` and on a tubular member inclosed within the bushing, a rodwithin the Atubular memberl .and having an enlarged portion cooperatingwith an internal tapered seat on the tubular member, mercury sealsassociated with the several pairs of tapered seats, and means forforcing the several cooperating tapered surcasing, a starting electrode,means extendfaces inte gaS-tightengagement"comprising i In testimonywhereof', Ihve hereunto a.' spring pressing upon an enlergement onsubscribed my name this 24th day of J an.-

l the r0d,. a vsecond bushing in* engagement' 1914.

l member. v

with the tubular member, and .means eon- FRANK CONRAD. nected Withthe'casing for forcing the seey Witnesses: V y 'ond bushing tightly againstthe tubular WiLLIAM BRADSHAW,

. A B. B. HINES.'

